Today was certainly a great day for Obama. He secured not one, but two major union endorsements, The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) and Service Employees International Union (SEIC)

From the Associated Press, read about SEIC's endorsement of Obama...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Barack Obama won the support Friday of the 1.9-million member Service Employees International Union, his second endorsement in as many days from large labor organizations and a fresh sign of momentum in the Democratic presidential race with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

"There has never been a fight in Illinois or a fight in the nation where our members have not asked Barack Obama for assistance and he has not done everything he could to help us," Andy Stern, the union's president, told reporters in announcing the decision.

Stern said that in the months since union leaders met with several Democratic candidates last fall, "the excitement has been building and building for Obama."

The politically active union represents workers in health care, building services and other industries. It has donated more than $25 million to candidates in the past two decades, most of it to Democrats.

Michelle Obama traveled Ohio today, making stops in Columbus and Cincinnati! Before her event started at Ohio State University, the overflowing crowd started chants of "Fired Up and Ready to Go!" and "Yes, We Can!"

During her speech, Michelle spoke about she could relate to Ohioans because she grew up in a middle class family and her father worked hard every day to support his family as best he could. She also spoke about how she's worried about the lack of empathy our country is facing.

She said:

"People are struggling all over the place because the jobs like my father had, those blue collar jobs, are disappearing. Over the course of my lifetime, I have seen the challenges that ordinary folks face get increasingly more difficult...It's not that we're suffering from a deficit of policies and plans, it's that we've lost the understanding that in a democracy, in a culture like ours, we are only as strong as the weakest among us. We all have to be ready to compromise and sacrifice."

Michelle spoke about Barack's history of bringing about positive change for ordinary Americans while working as a community organizer and civil rights attorney, and encouraged people to believe in the possibilities of hope. She said:

"Hope is making a comeback because people are believing in the possibility of making change from the bottom up...Right now we need some inspiration. Everything begins and ends with hope. The only person who has a chance of getting us where we need to be is Barack Obama."

Michelle told everyone how important it is to participate in the political process by voting on March 4, and said, "Barack needs you. This is about changing the way we engage in democracy."

The Associated Press is reporting that the Mayor of Austin, TX has endorsed Obama!

****************************

AUSTIN—Austin Mayor Will Wynn threw his support Friday to Sen. Barack Obama's bid for the White House.

Wynn, who has made energy efficiency a hallmark of his tenure, cited Obama's commitment to an energy policy that protects the environment.

"For too long, we've allowed old divisions to hold us back," Wynn said. "Recently, I've had conversations about energy policy with presidential candidates from both parties, and I believe Sen. Obama is the only person who can move us forward on this critical issue."

Wynn chairs the Energy Committee of the U.S. Conference of Mayors and worked on energy-efficiency grant legislation.

Obama thanked Wynn for the endorsement.

"I don't believe that energy policy is something to bring up only when it's convenient during a campaign," he said in a statement issued by his campaign.

Obama wants to set up a carbon emissions cap-and-trade system requiring pollution credits to be auctioned, to ensure polluters pay for emissions they release. Revenue generated by auctioning allowances will be used to develop clean energy and invest in energy efficiency improvements.

Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign has proposed a similar energy plan. Her plan also would mandate stronger energy and auto efficiency standards and a significant increase in green research funding.

Obama's entire presidential campaign is ran by his supporters...literally. He has built a grass-roots operation that is flowing seamlessly. As he states, change is happening from the bottom up.I was inspired by an article I ran across in the LA Times.If you haven't donated to Obama's campaign because you think a few bucks here and there wouldn't help any, you MUST read about Chuck Barracato, one of Obama's many small donors.

From his South Texas home, Chuck Barracato watches the news to see how Barack Obama is doing. When Barracato is moved by Obama's message or senses that the Illinois senator could use some help, he digs into his savings and chips in $25 for the candidate's presidential campaign.Barracato's payments, sent by computer click, add up to $700, maybe a little more. It's not a big sum by the standards of political donations, but it's enough to make Barracato part of a movement that some experts believe is reshaping presidential fundraising.

"I am grass-roots," said Barracato, 68, a retired teacher who has gotten involved in the 2008 presidential campaign because of his opposition to the war in Iraq. "I am the itty-bitty guy behind the movement."

Barack Obama is attracting jaw-dropping crowds at stop after stop. Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton would be thrilled with her own big turnouts except that his are so much bigger.

Political insiders are unsure what to make of it all: No one has seen these kinds of crowds so long before Election Day...

While some major Republican candidates were struggling to draw 800 people just before the Feb. 5 primaries, Obama spoke before 54,000 on a three-stop Saturday. That was approaching the population of Wilmington, Del., where he drew 20,000 the next day, Super Bowl Sunday...

In arena after arena, fire marshals turn people away. Obama briefly speaks to the disappointed groups, in overflow rooms or freezing parking lots, before addressing the big crowds inside.

Presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin said the last politician to draw such "fervent, huge crowds" was Robert F. Kennedy, in 1968. Unlike Obama, she said, Kennedy started with a famous name and legacy, "which makes this even more extraordinary."